Death-defying

...a late night journey in a Seoul taxi.

It was Sassy T, L-G, and myself. We hailed a taxi from Hongdae to the Yeonsinnae/Gusan area. First, the driver took the highway, which means longer cab ride, which means more expensive cab ride. Second, the guy had trouble staying in his lane. He had trouble not hitting other cars. He had trouble not hitting the curb. He had trouble going over 50 km/hour. He had trouble figuring out where we were going. He had trouble just driving. We had trouble keeping ourselves calm in the backseat. We couldn't figure out if he was drunk or just blind. It almost seems funny now, but it was terrifying at the time. Sassy T gave him a 10 when he tried to charge us more. She was firm. I was worried he'd come after us but he u-turned illegally and left. On the walk home, I was sure every cab was him coming back. Suddenly there were tons of taxis around us. They looked like sharks, with their light on top of the car, hunting. They would slow down next to us (to see if we wanted a ride) and then take off. Aniyo, taxi-man, we don't want a ride!

I am safe and sound back in my apartment, nursing a carton of strawberry milk, trying not to think of Soju-happy blind taxi drivers.